Portable shock splint with traction



June 25, 1963 J. J. LALLY PORTABLE saocx SPLINT WITH TRACTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 19, 1961 JNVENTOR. (James J L 0/4/ BY 4 rro/e/ves June 25, 1963 J. J. LALLY PORTABLE suocx s un? WITH TRACTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 19, 1961 o 7 w @Ww W E} V Q 1 5 7 I E//////K//// T m Q Q .ww

United States Patent 3,094,986 PORTABLE SHOCK SPLINT WITH TRACTION James J. Lally, 800 W. 52nd Terrace, Kansas City, Mo. Filed Dec. 19, 1961, Ser. No. 160,601 3 Claims. (Cl. 128-434) This invention relates to portable stretcher-like apparatus having traction means as a part thereof, said apparatus being intended to receive the body of a person in supporting relationship thereto and in such a manner that traction may be applied to the legs of an injured individual if such is necessary.

It is the most important object of this invention to provide stretcher apparatus having a body-receiving frame portion and a pair of leg-receiving splints carried by said frame portion and inclined upwardly and outwardly relative to one end of said frame portion, there being means carried by said apparatus and cooperable with said splints whereby a uniform and constant traction may be applied to one or both of the legs of an individual rcoeived by said apparatus.

It is a yet further object of this invention to provide traction means which may be utilized with a stretcher or shock splint apparatus such as disclosed herein, or which may be utilized with any suitable body supporting apparatus, which traction apparatus consists of two substantially identical units, each of said units being capable of operable connection with the leg of an injured individual requiring traction.

Yet another aim of this invention is to provide traction apparatus comprising a pair of units, each of said units including a rated coil spring. means for regulating the tension upon said coil spring at one end thereof, the opposite end of said coil spring being operably coupled with a pulley assembly, said pulley assembly including a first pulley of constant radius, and a second pulley of decreasing radius, said second pulley being in the nature of a logarithmic spiral and overlying said first pulley and having a common axis of rotation therewith whereby the force exerted on a traction line which is coupled to the leg of the injured individual is a constant and uniform force.

A further aim of this invention is to provide stretcher or shock splint apparatus having traction means as a part thereof and which apparatus includes a pair of splints, which splints are inclined upwardly and outwardly relative to one end of the apparatus whereby the legs of an individual received by said apparatus may be elevated during transportation of the individual from a point of injury to a point of treatment, said apparatus also allowing traction to be applied to the legs of such individual if this is necessary during such transportation.

Other objects will become apparent from the follow ing specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the portable shock splint with traction;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof, parts being broken away to reveal details of construction;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view talten on line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 1;

F10. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, perspective view of one end portion of the body-receiving frame portion;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, perspective view of one end portion of one of the splints and illustrating the structure by which the splint is connected to the frame portion; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary, bottom plan view of one end of the underside of the cover for the frame portion showice ing the structure by which the splints are interconnected with said frame portion.

The portable shock splint or stretches apparatus is broadly designated by the numeral 10 and includes a body-receiving frame portion 12 in the nature of a hollow housing, said portion 12 having a pair of upwardly and outwardly inclined splints .14 and 16 carried thereby.

Frame portion 12 includes a bottom or base member 18 which supports a cover 20 whereby to form a hollow housing, the cover 20 having an upper wall 22, side walls 24 and 26, and end walls 28 and 30. Upper wall 22 is convex in transverse cross section as best seen in FIG. 3 and includes, at the end thereof adjacent splints 14 and 16, a depressed area 32.

End wall 30 of frame portion 12 is of a bifurcated configuration as best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6. said bifurcated end wall presenting a pair of extensions 34 and 36 which define a slot 37 and are adapted to receive and support splints 16 and 14 respectively in the manner hereinafter described. The cover 20 may be hingediy secured to base member 18 or may merely rest thereupon in a suitable manner whereby to form a housing for the reception of the traction means broadly designated as 38.

Traction means 38 includes a pair of units 40 and 42 which are identical in construction and which correspond to splints 14 and 16 respectively. In view of the fact that units 40 and 42 are identical in all regards, only one of the same will be described hereinafter.

Base member 18 carries a bracket member 44 which is secured to the base member 18 and forms a part of frame portion 12. Bracket member 44 consists of a pair of spaced-apart plates 46 and 48, which plates 46 and 48 are normally disposed horizontally and in substantially parallel relationship to base member 18. Plates 46 and 48 are joined at their ends as by members 50 and 52 whereby to comprise bracket means 44.

Unit 40 which comprises one of the two identical units of attraction means 38, includes a first pulley 54 of circular configuration and having a constant radius, and a second pulley 56 having the configuration of a logarithmic spiral and thereby having a decreasing radius.

Pulleys 54 and 56 are secured to one another and have a common axis of rotation at 58, said axis consisting of a belt which rotatably secures pulleys 54 and 56 to bracket 44, the bolt passing through plates 46 and 48 of said bracket 44. Also included as a part of traction unit 40 is a rated coil spring 60 which lies within the housing formed by frame portion 12. One end .62 of spring 60 is adjacent the bifurcated end wall 30 of cover member 20 and thus adjacent its corresponding splint 14 in the traction unit 40 chosen for illustration.

Said end 62 of spring 60 has a pulley 64 carried thereby through suitable attaching means, there being a line 66 trained over said pulley 64 and having one end thereof secured to the wall 30 of cover 20 as at 68, and the other end thereof passing through said wall 30 and being designated as-70. The pulley 64, line 66 and the manner in which the same is carriedby frame portion 12, allow the regulation of tension upon spring member 60 and it will be appreciated that said tension'may be regulated by gripping end 70 of line 66 and pulling the same outwardly with respect to the frame portion '12- whereby to extend coil spring 60 and thus increase the tension exerted by the latter. It is contemplated that'the free end 70 of line 66 will be provided with suitable indlcia-whereby the user of apparatus 10 may accurately regulate the tension upon spring 60, such regulation being accomplished through use of a stop member 72 which is carried byline 66 adjacent end 70 and which may be brought into engagement with end wall 30 of cover 20 whereby to hold the spring 60 in its desired position of regulated tension.

The opposite end 74 ofspring 6ticarries a pulley 76 3 which has a line 78 trained thereovcr, one end 80 of line 78 being secured to frame portion 12 through normally uppermost plate 46 of bracket 44. The opposite end 82 of line 78 has a portion thereof trained over the outer, arcuate periphery of pulley 56 and is secured thereto in the manner illustrated for instance, in FIG. 2 of the drawings.

A traction line 84 has one end 86 thereof secured to pulley 54 which is of a constant radius, a portion of traction line 84 adjacent the end 86 being trained over the peripheral edge of pulley 54 in the manner shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings. From its point of securement to pulley 54, line '84 passes substantially the full length of frame portion 12 and passes through end wall 30 thereof at a point adjacent end 70 of line 66, the traction line 84 continuing beneath its corresponding splint 14 and over a pulley wheel 88 which is attached to the outer end of said splint 14. The end of traction line 84 opposite to end 86 then passes through the upstanding end flange 90 of splint 14 and has suitable means thereon whereby said opposite end 92 of traction line 84 may be secured to the leg of an individual received by apparatus 10.

Traction units 40 and 42 are identical in construction and operation, and it will be appreciated that the same may be disposed within the confines of frame portion 12 as illustrated in the drawings and operate independently of one another and in conjunction with their corresponding splints 14 and 16. Manifestly, the traction means 38 may be carried by a stretcher or shock splint apparatus such as illustrated in the drawings or may, if desired, be made a part of a hospital bed or other suitable supporting apparatus whereby the individual carried by the supporting apparatus may have his legs placed under traction through the traction means 38 in a manner to be hereinafter described.

The splints 14 and 16 are substantially identical in configuration and each comprises a bottom wall 94 whichis concave in configuration as seen for instance in FIG. of the drawings, and each splint 14 and 16 also includes, in addition to an end flange 90, a side flange 96, which flanges 96 extend the full length of splints 14 and 16 adjacent the normally innermost edges thereof. The wheel 88 such as is carried by each of splints 14 and 16 is normally secured to the end flange 90 thereof.

Each of splints 14 and 16 also has, in the form of the invention here chosen for illustration, suitable coupling means whereby the same may be attached to and carried by the frame portion 12. The coupling means for each of said splints are identical in construction and thus only one will be hereinafter described. Such means takes the form of a block 98 secured to one end of the splint 14 for instance, said block being of a configuration whereby to incline the splint upwardly and outwardly relative to frame portion 12. The block 98 has a flat surface 100 which rests upon a corresponding, normally uppermost fiat surface 102 of extension 36, said extension having a pair of openings 104 and 106 formed therein, which openings receive the free ends of attaching members 108 and 110 respectively.

The end wall 30 of frame portion 12 is provided with a latch catch 112 which is adapted to be engaged by suitable latching mechanism such as 114 carried by a wall 116 of supporting block 98.

Thus, it is seen that the splints 14 and 16 may be detached from the frame portion12 if such is desired to achieve a compact over-all apparatus for transportation or the like and may be quickly re-attached thereto by merely moving the splints into position whereby the face 100 of block 98 engages the face 102 of extension 36, the free ends of attaching members 108 and 110 extending through openings 104 and 106 respectively, and the latching mechanism 112-114 being operated whereby to se curely attach the splint to the frame portion. Both of the splints 14, 16 are secured to their corresponding extensions 36 and 34 respectively in an identical manner.

To also aid in the transportation of the device, traction line 84 is broken into two sections and is so shown the drawings for purposes of illustration, although it will be appreciated that the line may be a single continuous line and also the splints and body portion may be formed as an integral unit. However, in the drawings, line 84 is divided into two portions and the first portion has a hook 118 carried thereby and normallydisposed just exteriorly of end wall 30 whereby the same may receive a hook 120 carried by the other end portion of line 84, the hooks being engaged when the splints 14 and 16 are positioned upon the frame portion 12 whereby to, in effect, form a continuous traction line 84 as hereinabove described.

'In operation, the splints 14 and 16 may be, in the form of the invention here chosen for illustration, detached from frame portion 12 by releasing latching mechanism 112-114 and lifting upwardly on splint 14 for example, whereby to remove free ends of attaching members 108 and from their corresponding openings 104 and 106, it being understood that hooks 118 and have also been disengaged and that the hook 120 has been secured to an eye 122 carried by face 116 of block 98 for purposes of convenience for carrying the splints.

The splints 14 and 16 may then be placed upon the concave upper wall 22 of body portion 12 and the entire device easily transported.

When it is desired to place the same in use, the splints may be attached to the body portion 12 by reversing the steps hereinabove descrbed. The person to be supported by apparatus -10 can then be placed thereupon, the torso and head of the individual resting within the concavity created by the upper wall 22 of cover 20, the legs of the individual being raised upwardly and supported within the concave splint 14 and 16. In this position, the pelvis of the individual will be in engagement with substantially vertical portions 124 of the splints 14 and 16 and the free end 92 of traction line 84 may be attached to the leg of the individual at the ankle thereof by means of a suitable attaching bandage, splint or the like.

When the amount of traction to be applied to the individual's leg has been determined, the tension regulating means may be so adjusted by pulling free end 70 of line 66 outwardly with respect to end 30 of frame portion 12 and adjusting stop member 72 with respect to said end portion 30 whereby to hold coil spring 60 in its desired extended position and under the necessary amount of tension. While this adjustment is being made, the pulleys 54 and 56 will remain in a static condition, although the forces exerted on pulley 56 through line 78, will be increased as a result of increasing the tension on spring 60.

However, once the free end 92 has been secured to the leg of the individual desired to be placed under traction and which is received within splint 14 for instance, the traction upon said leg will be constant at the rate chosen through use of tensioning regulating means 66 hereinabove described. This is accomplished through the use of the second pulley 56 which is a logarithmic spiral and which is secured to the normally upper face of pulley 54 whereby the same will rotate together about a common axis. As is apparent, the radius of pulley 56 decreases from its outermost point and thus, as pull is exerted on traction line 84, the pulleys 54 and $6 rotate together, the decreasing radius of pulley 56, which conples spring 60 with both of the pulleys, causes the tension which spring 60 exerts upon line 84 to remain constant at the predetermined setting.

While specific settings, pulley radii and the like have not been hereinabove set forth, it will be appreciated that the same would be subject to calculation, depending upon the range of force desired to be applied through traction line 84 during operation of apparatus 10. However, through the use of suitable apparatus such as hereinabove described, the increase in tension on spring 60 as the pulley of constant radius 54 is rotated, will not be transmitted to the traction line 84 by virtue of the fact that spring 60 is, in effect, coupled to said pulley 54 by means of pulley 56 which is of a decreasing radius and which compensates for the increased tension exerted by spring 60 and permits the tension of line 84 to be constant and uniform.

Thus, it is seen that there is provided a portable shock splint or stretcher apparatus wherein the legs of the person received thereby, are fully supported in an inclined position which is recognized as beneficial to a person in shock, said apparatus having traction means as a part thereof whereby traction may be applied to the legs of an injured person while in the aforementioned raised position to instantly treat any injuries which may have been caused thereto and which would require that a leg or legs of the injured person be held under traction during transportation to a point of more complete treatment.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Shock splint apparatus comprising a body-receiving frame portion; a pair of leg-receiving splints carried by said frame portion and inclined upwardly and outwardly relative thereto; and a traction unit for each of said splints, each of said traction units including a coil spring, tension regulating means connected to one end of said spring, a pulley of constant radius rotatably disposed adjacent the opposite end of said spring, a pulley of decreasing radius secured to said pulley of constant radius in overlying relationship thereto, said pulleys having a common axis of rotation, a line extending from said opposite end of the spring and having a portion thereof trained over said pulley of decreasing radius, and a traction line having one end thereof trained over said pulley of constant radius and the other end thereof at the outer end of the corresponding splint for attachment to a leg of the person received by said apparatus.

2. Shock splint apparatus comprising a body-receiving frame portion, said portion forming a housing, the upper wall of said housing being concave in transverse crosssection; a pair of leg-receiving splints carried by said frame portion at one end thereof and inclined upwardly and outwardly relative thereto; and a traction unit for each of said splints, said units being disposed substantially entirely within said housing and each including a coil spring, tension-regulating means connected to one end of said spring, a pulley of constant radius disposed adjacent the opposite end of said spring and rotatably carried by said frame, a pulley of decreasing radius secured to said pulley of constant radius in overlying relationship thereto, said pulleys having a common axis of rotation and being simultaneously rotatable, a wheel carried by said opposite end of the spring, a line trained over said Wheel and having one end thereof secured to said frame, the other end thereof being trained over said pulley of decreasing radius and secured thereto, and a traction line having one end portion thereof trained over said pulley of constant radius and secured thereto and the other end thereof at the outer end of the correspond ing splint for attachment to a leg of the person received by said apparatus.

3. Shock splint apparatus comprising a body-receiving frame portion; a pair of leg-receiving splints carried by said frame and inclined upwardly and outwardly relative thereto; and a traction unit for each of said splints, each of said units including resilient means having one end coupled to said frame, a pulley of constant radius, a pulley of decreasing radius secured to said pulley of constant radius for rotation therewith, said pulleys having a common axis of rotation, said pulley of decreasing radius being operably coupled to the other end of said resilient means, and a traction line coupled at one end thereof to said pulley of constant radius, the other end thereof adapted to be secured, at the outer end of the corresponding splint, to a leg of the person received by said apparatus.

References (Jilted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 7,626 Welch Sept. 3, 1850 2,362,866 Ulrich NOV. 14, 1944 OTHER REFERENCES Journal of American Medical Association vol. 2, issue 2, pages 126-127 January 13, 1934. (Only page 126 relied on.) (Copy in Div. and Scientific Library.) 

1. SHOCK SPLINT APPARATUS COMPRISING A BODY-RECEIVING FRAME PORTION; A PAIR OF LEG-RECEIVING SPLINTS CARRIED BY SAID FRAME PORTION AND INCLINED UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY RELATIVE THERETO; AND A TRACTION UNIT FOR EACH OF SAID SPLINTS, EACH OF SAID TRACTION UNITS INCLUDING A COIL SPRING, TENSION REGULATING MEANS CONNECTED TO ONE END OF SAID SPRING, A PULLEY OF CONSTANT RADIUS ROTATABLY DISPOSED ADJACENT THE OPPOSITE END OF SAID SPRING, A PULLEY OF DECREASING RADIUS SECURED TO SAID PULLEY OF CONSTANT RADIUS IN OVERLYING RELATIONSHIP THERETO, SAID PULLEYS HAVING A COMMON AXIS OF ROTATION, A LINE EXTENDING FROM SAID OPPOSITE END OF THE SPRING AND HAVING A PORTION THEREOF TRAINED OVER SAID PULLEY OF DECREASING RADIUS, AND A TRACTION LINE HAVING ONE END THEREOF TRAINED OVER SAID PULLEY OF CONSTANT RADIUS AND THE OTHER END THEREOF AT THE OUTER END OF THE CORRESPONDING SPLINT FOR ATTACHMENT TO A LEG OF THE PERSON RECEIVED BY SAID APPARATUS. 